THE CC16 BOASTS 16 digital input/output (I/O) lines. All inputs feature over-voltage protection and are designed to work with industrial style "NPN" type sensors. The outputs are capable of sinking up to 400mA and can directly drive solenoids, contactors and small stepper motors – so for many applications, no additional interfacing circuits are required.

Like all SPLat controllers, the CC16 utilises a proprietary programming language. Unlike other controllers that use C, BASIC or ladder logic, the SPLat language was designed from the ground up for industrial control and is therefore exceptionally easy to use. While it is possible to create rudimentary programs in minutes using a subset of the SPLat language called "Fast-track", much more sophisticated control functions can also be built that include maths, state machines, heuristics and look-up tables.

A major selling point of the controller is its multi-tasking abilities, which are an integral part of the SPLat language. Up to 32 concurrent tasks coupled with an execution rate of about 15,000 high-level SPLat instructions per second provide enough scope for a wide variety of applications. Add to that the large program memory (approx. 12,000 instructions) and it’s hard to imagine a job that these little devices couldn’t tackle!

SPLat’s claim that their programming language is the "easiest in the world" for embedded OEM applications piqued our curiosity. While it might be easy for an experienced programmer to use, how would someone with no programming experience fare?